With just hours to go before Kerala CM V.D. Satheesan inaugurates export-import (EXIM) operations at the Vizhinjam Port, there is a considerable interest in what could be inside the first export container to be flagged off as part of the ceremony.
This is because the export container to be flagged off marks the transformation of the Thiruvananthapuram-based port from India's first deepwater transshipment facility to a multi-purpose gateway port.
According to a Times of India report, the first export container from Vizhinjam will carry about 4,000kg of food products, including ready-to-eat items such as jackfruit chips, banana chips, tapioca chips, Kerala mixture, and Marayoor jaggery.
Kerala sadhya, puttu powder, masala dosa, aviyal, curries, idli and sambar—which can all be stored for a year after being frozen—will also be sent in this container.
Packed by Thiruvananthapuram-based exporter Nilamels Exports, the consignment will be shipped to Valencia aboard the Liberian-flagged container ship MSC Marie Leslie (IMO: 9968310), which is currently docked at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai, as of 11:23 PM IST.
The ship will then travel to the Mundra Port, after which it is expected to return to Vizhinjam on August 28, and set sail for Europe the day after.
Notably, MSC's initial plans for Vizhinjam's EXIM change include exports from two services—the Himalaya Express (HEX), which will connect it to Las Palmas, Sines, Valencia, Barcelona and Gioia Tauro, and the India Africa Service (IAS), which will connect it with Coega, Pointe Noire, Abidjan, Tema, Lome, Cotonou and Kribi.
“We were particular that the first container should carry products made in the city and those associated with Kerala," the report said as the reason behind the choice of food products for the first export, citing Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI) president S.N. Raghuchandran Nair.
Nair also pointed out that several exporters—including those from Tuticorin, Tiruppur, and Bengaluru—have shown interest in exporting from Vizhinjam, as they can save around ₹75,000 per container.
This is not only due to the cut in freight transit time for exports from Vizhinjam, boosted by its deep draft that allows it to directly load containers onto motherships, but also its proximity to international shipping routes.
In that regard, the report also cites Suresh Mathew from Nilamels Exports, who explained that the usual period of 50 days for his exports to Spain would now be cut by about 20 days.
The ceremony, which will see Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), Sarbananda Sonowal, as the chief guest, will also see the announcement and official launch of the Satheesan government’s ambitious ‘Mission Samudra’, a port-led industrial and logistics development initiative built around the vision of a ‘Port City’.
The project envisions Vizhinjam at the centre of a wider Vizhinjam Maritime Economic Region, spanning eight industrial clusters, three new cities, and Kerala’s 600-km coastline.
